What Is Cuban Foreign Policy Autonomy?
Columbia University
School of International and Public Affairs
History of the Cold War
U8715
Cuba possessed some remarkable characteristics as an ally of the Soviet Union. Certainly being in the Western Hemisphere and having a distinct Hispanic culture that was very different from many other allies of the Soviet Union were two. Another fact that foreign policy experts at the time did not appreciate was that Cuba often executed distinct foreign decisions separate from the directives of the Kremlin. While European Communist nations could generally not act on foreign policy initiatives without the explicit approval of the Soviet Union, this was not the case with Cuba. Its active interventionist policies in Latin America, and later Africa, were at the time thought by the United States and its partners and allies as executed on the direct behest of the Soviet Union. However, recent research has proven this not to be the case. It was clearly not a traditional client state, and had the ability to act with a great deal of impunity in much of its international affairs. …show more content…
Key considerations are the points at which the Soviet Union interests conflicted with Cuban foreign policy initiatives and what enforcement measures the Soviet Union could have taken to place Cuba in line with its own intentions. It is important to understand the nature and limits of this Cuban foreign policy autonomy because a clarification of the same allows us to better define conflicts in this era as truly proxy wars or battles that were fought for other reasons. The traditional view of superpowers directing and controlling all the actions of states in this period can be shown to be simply invalid, and Cuba’s autonomy in these matters illustrates how much third world nations at the time determined the course of world
School of International and Public Affairs
History of the Cold War
U8715
Cuba possessed some remarkable characteristics as an ally of the Soviet Union. Certainly being in the Western Hemisphere and having a distinct Hispanic culture that was very different from many other allies of the Soviet Union were two. Another fact that foreign policy experts at the time did not appreciate was that Cuba often executed distinct foreign decisions separate from the directives of the Kremlin. While European Communist nations could generally not act on foreign policy initiatives without the explicit approval of the Soviet Union, this was not the case with Cuba. Its active interventionist policies in Latin America, and later Africa, were at the time thought by the United States and its partners and allies as executed on the direct behest of the Soviet Union. However, recent research has proven this not to be the case. It was clearly not a traditional client state, and had the ability to act with a great deal of impunity in much of its international affairs. …show more content…
Key considerations are the points at which the Soviet Union interests conflicted with Cuban foreign policy initiatives and what enforcement measures the Soviet Union could have taken to place Cuba in line with its own intentions. It is important to understand the nature and limits of this Cuban foreign policy autonomy because a clarification of the same allows us to better define conflicts in this era as truly proxy wars or battles that were fought for other reasons. The traditional view of superpowers directing and controlling all the actions of states in this period can be shown to be simply invalid, and Cuba’s autonomy in these matters illustrates how much third world nations at the time determined the course of world